How Coronavirus Could Affect 'Drag Race' Season 13

A regular season of RuPaul's Drag Race, four episodes of Secret Celebrity Drag Race, and the closely approaching All Stars Season 5 may seem like a lot of drag content for one year. But for true fans, it's not enough, which is why you'll be happy to know Drag Race is returning for Season 13.

According to a YouTube announcement from Drag Race's production company, World of Wonder, casting for Season 13 opened in December 2019. The same video indicates that casting closed on Jan. 24, 2020, and no further announcements regarding the cast have been made.

The more pressing question is whether or not coronavirus will impact the show's filming schedule. The regular seasons typically premiere in January and air until early summer. It's unclear when everything is filmed, but if production is able to resume safely this fall, they should be able to make a January premiere date or only have to bump things back slightly. The Season 12 reunion and finale were filmed virtually, so the production crew knows how to get creative if they have to, though it would be trickier to figure out a way to film lip-syncs and challenges remotely. Ultimately, when Season 12 will air is kind of up in the air until we know more about when filming might be possible.

Until then, you can look forward to All Stars Season 5, which features some of the show's most legendary queens to date and a lip-sync battle twist. According to the latest season trailer, instead of lip-syncing against a competitor each week, a Ru-elected top "All Star" will go head-to-head with a "mysterious lip-sync assassin," aka one of the franchise's most talented performers. If the All Star beats the assassin, she gets a $10,000 prize and the ability to send another queen home. See it all play out when All Stars premieres June 5 on VH1 at 8 p.m. ET.